US Defense chief is in Japan to show solidarity amid concerns about China

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter kicked off
talks with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday aimed at
demonstrating that the two countries' security alliance is
tighter than ever amid China's growing assertiveness in the
region.

Carter's visit coincides with the first update in U.S.-Japan
defense cooperation guidelines since 1997, a revision that will
expand the scope for interaction between the two allies in line
with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to ease the constraints of
Japan's pacifist constitution on the nation's military.

A top U.S. commander said last month that Abe's move to allow
Tokyo to come to the aid of an ally under attack would pave the
way for closer cooperation between U.S. and Japanese forces
across Asia.

Such expanded training and joint missions might extend through
the South China Sea – where China, Vietnam, the Philippines and
other nations have rival claims - to the Indian Ocean.

Neither Tokyo nor Washington have territorial claims in the South
China Sea, but the U.S. Seventh Fleet operates in the area and a
Japanese naval presence could irritate Beijing, which has a
separate territorial row with Tokyo in the East China Sea.

Washington has welcomed a broader regional military role for
Japan, as the United States pushes its allies in Asia, including
Australia, to do more as China takes an increasingly assertive
stance in territorial disputes.

In a written interview with Japan's Yomiuri newspaper published
on Wednesday, Carter expressed concern about China's land
reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

"We are concerned by the scope and pace of China's land
reclamation activities, which are inconsistent with China's own
past commitments to ASEAN countries," the newspaper quoted Carter
as saying.

"We are especially concerned at the prospect of militarization of
these outposts. These activities seriously increase tensions and
reduce prospects for diplomatic solutions," he said. "We urge
China to limit its activities and exercise restraint to improve
regional trust."

Reuters reported in February that China was rapidly creating
artificial islands from six reefs in the Spratly archipelago in
the South China Sea. Beijing says the work falls "within the
scope of China's sovereignty".

U.S. and Philippine troops will take part in annual military
exercises this month near the Spratlys in the largest such drills
since the allies resumed joint activities in 2000.

Abe's government plans to submit bills to parliament in the
coming months to ratify his cabinet's decision last year to allow
Japan to exercise its right of collective self-defense, the
biggest shift in Japanese security policy in decades.

Carter, Japanese Defense Secretary Gen Nakatani and the two
countries' foreign ministers are expected to unveil the new
defense guidelines in late April, before Abe meets U.S. President
Barack Obama on April 28 for a summit in Washington.

(Editing by Dean
Yates)

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